An Unforeseen Crossing
by flintddraig
Summary: Nothing to hold me in one place, no reason to stick around. That's how it's been since I ran away from home at age 16. but when I fall down the rabbit hole and into the world of remnant, maybe things will change. Rated t for Blood, Language, and Future content. *Revamped and re-uploaded!*
1. Sure doesn't look like home

A/N I'M BACK BITCHES!

Ahem. I have returned from my hiatus, with my revamped tale. Much has been fixed, much more remains the same. Thank you everyone for being so patient with me, I have been dealing with quite a lot as of late. As I mentioned shortly before taking my story down, I suffer from depression and this story is one way of handling it for me, along with other creative outlets. I became unhappy with the way my story was going, and decided to correct it as such. It took some time, and a lot of effort but I finally have this tale back in a place I feel it should be. Enough from me, now. Go read!

* * *

There are days in every persons life that changes them irrevocably. For some, it's a job offer. Meeting the person they will spend their life with. Losing everything. Starting over. Come with me now as I tell you the tale of how all of these happened to me.

"oh, today is so not gonna be fun" I slam my alarm clock, in a futile effort to turn back time ten minutes, or at the least shut that damn thing OFF_._ i dragged my body out of bed, and into a frigid shower. nothing quite like a busted heater, is there. After I had finished with my dose of early morning hypothermia, i shuffled into the kitchen to brew myself some tea so i could feel my fingers again, but the shattering sound of my teapot failing to bounce canceled that. "Oh thats just fuckin' PERFECT!" I bellowed out. My neighbors will complain about the racket, guaranteed. after i finish sweeping up all the shards of my morning, its time to go to work. fucking yay.

I walked into my thankless job, tying my apron behind my back and ensuring that no hair escaped the mesh sitting atop my head to contaminate the food. Working in one of the most famous kitchens in the greater Edmonton area meant that appearances needed to be upheld, after all. The hours flew by as order after order of the classiest people came through, monotony claiming my mind as a hostage. I began to daydream as I created my culinary masterpieces, idle thoughts flitting through my mind as quickly as the food I prepared.

My reverie was interrupted when I realised I was being spoken too. "Huh? What? I uh...Pancakes! Coming up!" I blurted out, reciting the last chit I recalled. My manager, Richard, had a grip on my shoulder.

"Hey, bud. I really don't want to do this, but you goofed up the wrong order. The owner wants you gone as soon as your replacement gets in." His words were delivered softly, but the meaning wasn't lost on me. I was fired.

"Seriously? He wants me gone, but I have to stick around so that fucker can make more money?! Fuck that, Fuck this, Fuck him!" I tore my apron off and walked out. If I wasn't wanted, I wouldn't stick around, plain and simple. I was pissed, for lack of a better word. Four years i had worked there, and one mistake gets me canned? so much for loyalty. I took off to a place I knew would help with my frustration.

The familiar feeling of tape around my knuckles soothed my mind as I entered a trance like state. Swaying back and forth, I exploded in motion, sharp reports cracking out of the heavy bag in front of me. It's been a while since I returned to my martial arts, although I hadn't lost my touch. After a while, I sighed in defeat. Punching bags aren't the same as real people, moving targets that can strike back and plan and counter and bleed just as much as I can.

Packing up the materials I dragged out, I set out from the gym with a dejected exhale. I had been wandering for quite some time, not realizing I had stepped into an unfamiliar neighborhood some time ago. "Aw crap on a cracker." Since I was already in a directionally challenged state, it couldn't hurt to wander around. Only a little ways into my stroll, my eye was caught by a fantastic piece of graffiti.

It was a doorway that was glowing from the inside, and there was a forest inside. it was the most vibrant green I have ever seen, greener than green itself. I stretched out my hand to confirm that it was just a painting, I felt as though I could open the door and walk through it. which is exactly what happened.

By reflex I closed the door behind me, only then to realize that the door simply did not exist… wherever this place was. "Wait, what just happened?" I began to look around, wandering the area once more as I looked for the alleyway I had just been standing in. "Alright, clearly I've been assaulted and am having one hell of a dream, courtesy of blunt force trauma to the back of my skull." In the midst of my musings, I felt the hair on the back of my neck begin to raise, never a good sign according to my grandfather. I slowly turned to the sight of a lupine creature which appeared to be wearing a skull over its face, and were those bone spikes coming from its arm?

The silence between the beast and myself was broken when it began to howl, baying for my blood. A primal fear overtook every sense I had, filling my mind with one pressing thought. I needed to be anywhere in the world that is not here. My body reacted instinctively, turning on a point and racing further into the woods. The resounding clamor only reinforced my belief that I had made the correct decision, until the beast came crashing through the copse, snarling all the while. It was evident that the beast was faster than I would ever be, switching my reaction from 'flight' to 'fight'. I pivoted on one foot bringing the other up to scissor into a savage boot straight into the creatures jaw. the resounding crack had me grinning like a fool while I watched the dark creature careen into a tree, splintering the bark with it's face. While the beast was stunned, I made my move.

Striding over, I chambered my leg into my torso, unleashing a devastating kick into one of the beasts spikes, causing it to snap off. The results were mixed at best, as the resulting pain snapped the creature out of it's stupor with an ear-shattering keen. I however, was beginning to form a plan. Scooping up the impromptu weapon, I began my jaunt over to the monster. "Well, looks like it's no fun when the shoe is on the other foot, huh?" I mocked the creature, still recovering from it's abrupt meeting with the coniferous flora. I stepped forward, raising the spike high, readying my strike. As I swung towards the creatures skull, it shifted and pounced on me. "God, you need a breath mint!" The creature seemed to take offense at that as it sunk its teeth into my right shoulder. I screamed in agony, before giving way to my blood-lust.

The sight of my own blood drives me into a frenzy. I gouge my thumb into the monster's eye, using its mask as a grip. The monster immediately released my thoroughly mangled shoulder in favor of attempting to force me to release my grip. having given me back my other arm, I proceeded to slowly raise my arm all the way up, shredded muscles screaming at me to stop everything now. Once my arm was in place, I proceeded to jam my thumb into the other eye, causing the monster to scream louder, whipping it's head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge me. I let go, bringing the spike I had removed to bear, allowing the creatures manic thrashing to impale itself, driving the spike into the brain. The monster proceeded to fall over, it's body spastically twitching from the interrupted signals. releasing a sigh, I proceeded to drag myself under a tree, and fall into a dream filled sleep.

My family was one of warriors, and has been. I traced my lineage all the way back to the highland warriors of Scotland, who blood carried the fires of war in it. I recall the conversation my father and I had about it, so very well. "Alright, kiddo. What happened?" My father was a very intimidating man if you didn't know him. Hard, steel eyes peered out from under wiry brows. His head was permanently covered in stubble, grey before his time, a fact he attributed to my mother. The man in question towered over myself, standing at six feet and three inches tall. I gulped.

"They were being mean to the new girl, just 'cause she's different!" I protested. He shook his head, not in disappointment but in resignation and acceptance.

"Remember what I said? We talk through our problems, we don't fight. do you remember why?"

"It's 'coz we're different, right?"

"Right. Our family is special. We are warriors, people that protect the ones who can't protect themselves."

"Then why am I in trouble Dad?"

"The school thinks that nobody should fight, and everyone should use their words to settle their problems and I find myself agreeing with them. You didn't need to beat those boys up, you could have gotten a teacher." My old man had dropped to a crouch, hand around my shoulders to pull me in. "Why didn't you go get an adult?"

"They were hurting her right then, the teachers would have been too late."

He chuckled a little. "And why would the teachers have been too late?"

"they had seen me, if I ran off to get a teacher they would have just run away too."

My Dad furrowed his brow as he worked his way through my childish thought process. "So, if you had run off, they would have disappeared with no way for them to get in trouble?" I nodded. "So rather than going and getting a teacher, you took it upon yourself to punish your classmates?" Again, I nodded. "Well kiddo, I think you had the right motive, but you didn't need to beat them so badly. You know that as well as I do, so I am going to have to ground you bud." I was crestfallen, and he saw it. "Hey, I'm not punishing you for doing the right thing. Far from it. What I am punishing you for, is the fact that you knew how far to take it and you went past that line." The way he phrased everything made me confused. I had done the right thing, but I was still in trouble. I decided then and there that adults were silly, and a grin crossed my face at the thought. "Hey, what's got you smiling there, buster?"

I looked up at the man who had raised me with my dazzling smile, and simply spoke up "Adults are silly."

I was roused from my slumber by three beautiful young women arguing in the middle of the clearing. Still delirious from being roused from my slumber, I listened in. The white haired one, looking for all the world like a Valkyrie, seemed to be aggravated. "I'm starting to think that Ozpin sent us out here as a joke. I mean, we've been wandering around here for an hour now, and we still haven't found any sign of someone trespassing in the forest." Trespassing? They must be looking for me. maybe they can fix up my arm!

As I struggled to make myself know, the tiny crimson one piped up. "Weiss, Ozpin doesn't joke. Have you ever seen him smile? There is someone out here, and we are going to find them." She seems pretty confident about the situation, but isn't she a little young to be in charge?

My attention turned to the final member of the trio, and I rendered incapable of making comparisons. She burned, a fire in the darkest of nights surrounding us. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders like spun gold, and her eyes sparkled, amethyst hues ensnaring me more surely than any restraint would. The firecracker bounced on her feet, seemingly anxious. "Blake's been gone for a while, she should have been back by now." Another member in this little search party?

A rustling noise behind me was all the warning I got before I was hoisted from my resting place and then heaved into the middle of the group. "Found him." I looked at the one who had launched me so carelessly. She was clad in a black vest, with a white underlay, and something about her eyes reminded me of the tabby down the street. I decided that now would be a good time to speak up.

"hello" I croaked out. The chambering of several rounds had my hands as high as I could reach them which wasn't very far as I was abruptly remind of the monster's loving, tender treatment of my arm. "ow ow ow, crap that wolf did a… number… on me?" confusion colored my statement as I surveyed the glade to see no such creature in the area. "did you ladies happen to see a giant wolf around here? Big skull mask thing, lots of spikes, missing its eyes?" My query was met with silence and shared glances amongst the group. the girl in black was the first to break the silence.

"can you describe the creature in more detail?" I pondered for a moment before answering with "it was a humanoid wolf creature, it ran on four legs although it didn't seem to need to. it was pitch black except for the bones all over it, it seemed to have a skull for a face, and its eyes glowed red. Thats about all I can remember, I am quite lost, and need to find the door back home, so could one of you wake me up now please?" the women all looked very confused, when the golden one, Yang I think her name was, crushed me with a very simple question.

"What door are you talking about?"

Fear and confusion seeped into my tone again "you didn't see a door in the middle of the forest? kind of glowy, looks almost like a painting?" their silence was the only answer I needed. I slumped down into the dirt. "I guess I'll just have to wake up a different way." I whispered to myself as I curled up in the dirt. I was abruptly brought back to reality by the sharp pain of laying on my mangled arm. "goddammit OW, Dreams aren't supposed to hurt."

The woman who tossed me spoke up "Why do you keep insisting this is a dream?"

"Well, in real life you don't walk through magical doors that transport you to another world, for one, and our animals tend not to have giant bones sticking out of them either, so there's that. Also, if this wasn't a dream then there is no way I would have four beautiful women looking for me." I grumbled, not bothering with my mental filter as usual.

My words garnered mixed reactions. The black and white members merely regarded me with a cool gaze, while the one in the red hood suddenly found the ground very interesting. The golden woman began to fan herself, flashing a megawatt smile at me. "Oh, be still my beating heart! I think I might swoon if ladykiller here keeps it up!"

"I-uh… Right. So, anyways, none of you would happen to be able to fix this up, right?" I gestured to my currently useless shoulder.

" I suppose Ozpin is going to be interested in him, this is obviously why he sent us here" surmised the white one.

"so, thats a yes?"

the golden one walked up and playfully punched me in the good shoulder "yup, you're coming with us. I'm Yang, the quiet one is Blake, ice queen over there is Weiss, and the little red one is my sister Ruby, she's the team leader. now can you walk, or do I have to carry you?" she she asked with a playful grin on her face. Weiss was glowering behind her, while Blake and Ruby seemed to be amused with the developments.

"now this is backwards. aren't I supposed to be saving the beautiful damsel, not the other way around?" she laughed, the most beautiful sound I had heard since arriving here, wherever this is. It sounded delicate, like chimes in the wind. "Nope. come on, champ. We've got quite a walk ahead of us. let's go." She made it ten steps before realizing I had passed out.

"Geez, he's so weak. Like, is he so out of aura that he can't heal himself after one little beowolf cub?" Yang groused as she scooped up the limp form that was my body. "well we can't have you dying on us, now can we. Ozpin would be upset for sure." Yang looked at the other members who all wore large grins on their faces. "what 's so funny? We gotta get back to beacon *before* he bleeds to death, ya know." Ruby, Weiss, and Blake glanced at each other again, shrugging their shoulders at each other before Blake finally spoke up

"You're just being unusually delicate is all." Yang blushed and stuttered out "I-I just don't want him to die on me is all. now lets go, seriously. He's bleeding all over me." The group set off, Yang striding well ahead of the giggling trio.

When I awoke, it was well into the night already. Looking around, the cold sterile walls and the cloying odour of bleach confirmed I was indeed in a medical building of some sorts. I quickly confirmed that I had received medical aid, as my arm was bandaged up, although yellow ribbon doesn't seem like standard inventory for a bandage. Very confused, I looked around my ward, ascertaining not that I was in a new place, but that I was alone. Quiet snoring directed my attention towards the window, in which lay a figure that seemed familiar. clambering out of my cot, I gingerly stepped towards the dozing form. Hair that seemed to be spun from gold itself framed Yangs face. My breath hitched at the sight, I was rooted to the spot. Was she injured? Did something happen while she was bringing me… wherever I am?

I put my mind at ease when I determined no wounds on her. Gently easing her up, I lifted yang and placed her in my cot and covered her with the blanket. once I was satisfied that my rescuer was comfortable, I turned to the window couch and crashed right back into dreamland. morning came quickly with the sun rising in my eyes, blinding me. I rose from my slumber, quiet thunder rolling through my stomach. "Gotta find food. Food good. Hungry bad." I mumbled to myself. Finding a nurse, i had him direct me towards a personal kitchenette. Surveying my cozy fortress of food, I smirked. This would do just nicely.

"Yang still isn't back, I'm worried. She never misses a meal" Ruby fretted over a plate of cookies.

Blake quietly commented "She could still be watching over the strange boy we found in the forest last night. she did seem worried about him"

Weiss was too busy filing her nails to listen in. Ruby sighed "Yeah, I guess so. She'll catch up with us at class, then"

Nora, in her usual manner, blurted out "Aww, its so sweet! she stayed up saving him, and is probably making him breakfast in bed! its adorable! REN! why dont you ever do that kinda stuff?!" Ren just sighed and continued eating breakfast.

Weiss was apparently finished with her nails as she chimed in "Yang doesn't cook, don't be silly. remember when we went out for steak? She had hers raw, remember? Euch."

"I believe its called 'blue rare' and it is technically cooked." Blake interjected, chasing her eggs around the plate.

"Cooked how? They just wave the meat in front of the grill to scare it a little before slapping it in front of her. Honestly, I swear it was still crawling away when she devoured it." Weiss countered, a grimace spreading across her face. Ruby merely pushed her remaining cookie around her plate, not hungry anymore for some reason.

Yang arose in a zombie-esque state to the aroma of coffee and bacon. Sniffing the air, she struggled with gravity for a moment before sitting upright, not completely registering that she woke up a few feet from where she slept. shambling towards the scent of an excellent start to a morning, she gradually made it to the kitchenette in which I was performing culinary artwork.

"Oh good, you're awake. Eggs?" I said with a smile on my face. She looked confused by the question so I wordlessly dished up some scrambled eggs, perfectly golden hash browns, two large pancakes, and a large quantity of bacon. Sliding it down the table, I poured some coffee. "Do you drink coffee?" She wordlessly grunted, clearly not a morning person. Sitting down across from Yang, I passed the cup over to her. 'I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life, so I made breakfast." I'll take the fact that she was too busy inhaling her plate as a sign that she enjoys my cooking.

"you seem to be settling in well, all things considered" Yang spoke up, her plate devoid of anything resembling food. "I figured that you would be freaking out right now, didn't you say you needed to go home?"

I busied myself cleaning up the remains of breakfast, weighing her statement. "In all honesty, I haven't had time to freak out. Literally the first thing that happened to me is some freaky looking wolf thing tries to make my arm into hamburger, and then I'm meeting the four of you, then I'm here. Besides, I was planning on skipping town anyways. this just wasn't exactly what I had in mind." I finished my statement with a deadpan tone as I put the last of my dishes away.

Yang paused, her brow furrowing into a channel as she attempted to stare a hole through her plate. "I was supposed to tell you something, but I can't remember what it was…" She continued to stare until she abruptly stood up, crying out. "I REMEMBER! Ozpin wanted to meet you today, go talk to him when you get the chance." Yang stretched as she checked the clock, her eyes expanding to the size of teacups. "Oh crap, class is in five minutes I gotta go bye!" the fiery blonde yelled out as she sprinted out the door and down the hall.

I was left baffled by one question.

"What's an Ozpin?"


	2. Brand new old world

"What's an Ozpin?" the question still resounded through my mind as I wandered the halls of beacon looking for one, whatever it was. None of the students seemed to be able to help me, or thought I was kidding. I bumped into a tall blonde kid, who promptly dropped all his books and scattered them everywhere. "I'm sorry!" I blurted out, promptly picking up the nearest books and dusting them off. "Here you go, bud. Really sorry about that." The kid looked at me rather intensely for a moment, then stuck out his hand.

"The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." I cocked an eyebrow at the last part, but held my tongue. "You don't look familiar, are you new here?" He said, a smile on his face. He's more perceptive than I first took him for, I'll grant him that. The nicest person I've met today as well.

"Yeah, you could say that. I'm actually looking for an Ozpin, think you could point me in the right direction?" I queried, watching his face screw up in confusion, I don't think he'll be able to help me either. Laughter seemingly confirmed this.

After Jaune had finished laughing, he clarified a few things for me. "Ozpin is the headmaster, not a thing. And you can find his office at the top of the building. Just follow this hallway, make a left at the end and catch the elevator up, you can't miss it."

"You're a lifesaver, I've been walking all over this place, and let me tell you, I'm totally lost. Thanks again!" I hand him the books and begin walking down the hallway. About half way down, I remembered I hadn't told him my name. "Oh well" I mumbled to myself as I carried on towards the doors to my future. Stepping inside the elevator, I found the topmost button with my hand. My finger hovered over the sleek silver button that would summon the elevator, propelling me onto a path which I wouldn't be able to return to. But do I really want to go back? I didn't exactly leave much behind. With that thought in my mind, I pressed the button and began my ascent. Quiet elevator music played, which directed my attention to my phone. I wondered how my battery was holding up, and was disappointed to find out that my battery was completely drained. My train of thought was completely derailed as the elevator slid to a smooth stop and opened the doors into a foyer. Walking into the minimalist room, I stepped up to the double doors and rapped on the frame. A voice rung out from inside "enter." Oh boy. I steeled my courage and pushed the doors open, striding in.

"Mister Ozpin, I presume?" I spoke as I entered. A statuesque chair swiveled around, and I was treated to the sight of a bespectacled handsome gentleman with silver hair. I am certain this is the correct place to be. "Yang mentioned that you wanted to meet me, sir."

Ozpin smiled "Indeed I do. And, please, call me professor. You have caused a bit of a stir here you see, and I'm curious. How does a person with no semblance, and no aura to speak of, defeat a creature of Grimm? And more importantly, where did you come from?" I relayed the events of last night to Professor Ozpin as best I could, which cause his eyebrows to raise more than a few times. After hearing my tale, he settled back into his chair, that same small smile gracing his face. "So, you fell through a door in your world to this one, and have locked yourself out? How unfortunate for you." My shaking head contradicted his statement.

"Oh no sir, I don't miss it at all." Again with that eyebrow! "I didn't exactly have a 'life' back there, I was mostly drifting from place to place. Coming here wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but the more I think about it, the better this place seems. While I was looking for you, I spoke with your students. You make people that matter here, a light against the darkness if you will. If you will permit me, I want to study here and become a hunter." The admission surprised even me, but what surprised me even more was what came next.

"These students have spent several years training just to get here, followed by a rigorous test, just to get in the front door. Do you really think you could compare amongst them?" His words didn't seem to be discouraging or dismissive, but a challenge.

"Right now? No. Give me a month with access to the requisite materials, and we'll see" I claimed, feeling far more courageous than last night.

"Very well, you have one month to prepare. Be warned, if you fail this test it will cost you your life." Ozpin cautioned me. "If you feel you are unready before the test, alert me and it will be cancelled. This will, however, be your only chance to enter beacon. One last thing, all of my students have a name."

I pondered for a minute, a name was a symbol of identity. My old life had finished when that door closed. Time for a new name. "Everyone has very 'colorful' names here, correct?" Ozpin nodded in agreement. "Call me Flint then. Flint Ddraig."

Ozpin smiled. "Well then mister Flint, welcome to beacon. I believe you will need this." He procures a small white bar with silver lining on it. "This is your scroll, guard it carefully. It will have value to you further than you can comprehend. I suggest you prepare yourself now."

All right. Pass, or die. No pressure. I was second guessing myself all the way down the elevator. I do like living, but I also have nothing in either world. This could be a new life for me, and I can't back away from it. From my earlier wanderings I had seen a library. Time to head there.

On my way down the elevator, I pulled out my scroll. Opening it up, I saw a transparent screen, but that was it. Looking all over for an on switch, I couldn't find one. Shrugging, I decided to ask someone for help with it later. It was about that moment that the elevator came to a stop. Stepping out, I strode towards the library.

"Hello, and welcome to the academy library, is there anything I can help you with?" a cheerful looking woman asked. It was safe to assume that she was a librarian.

Looking at the woman, I realized she had a pair of horns on top of her head which was disconcerting. Recovering from my disorientation, I then ask "Ozpin is arranging a personal test for me, and I just arrived here. Could you direct me to the basic materials for classes here?" The woman beamed at me.

"If you could hand me your scroll please, I'll transfer all the materials right now, " she said with a smile on her face. She pulled open the scroll, frowning when she realized there was no information on it. "You haven't filled out any of the basic information on here, once you have done that you can bring it back and I can give you the materials then."

"So how exactly do I go about filling out the information?" I asked.

"All you have to do is use some of your aura on the scroll and it will automatically fill out your information for you. Sorry I can't help you out more."

Turning my head, I caught sight of a familiar black bow peeking above a novel. "That's all right, I think I have found someone who can." claiming my scroll from the librarian, I walked over to the dark beauty from the other night.

She was lost in a realm of paper and ink when I approached her, and was thusly startled when I spoke to her. "Mind if I sit down here?" The bow tied female narrowed her eyes at me, concentrating before realization dawned upon her.

"You're the boy we saved in the forest." Her tone stated it as a fact. I nodded my head in confirmation. "You were injured when we first found you. How is your arm?" she inquired.

"I'm not sure, and at this point I am afraid to look. It doesn't hurt, however, so that's a sign. I never actually caught your name, do you mind my asking?" I asked as I began to unravel the ribbon.

"Yang used her ribbon for that?" she asked, completely disregarding my question. The flesh on my arm was an angry red, with black borders around the scar tissue. "You haven't used your aura to heal this, have you." again, less of a question.

"I still don't know how to use my aura, I actually only just learned of it recently" I confessed. "I was actually wondering if you could help me out with that. Maybe explain what aura even is?"

Blake smiled, looking eerily similar to the Cheshire cat. "Aura is the physical manifestation of our souls, and it has many uses. I gather yours isn't unlocked then. Why not ask Yang to unlock it for you? I'll message her to meet you out by the tree in front of the school, sound good?"

I nodded my head, seeing as she was already typing out a message. "Thanks for the help Blake, see you around!" I commented as I walked out of the library.

Blake smiled into her book after I had left. "Don't thank me just yet."

* * *

By the time I had made it to the tree Blake had described, the sun was beginning to descend. Looking around, I saw no blonde woman to unlock my aura. I sighed and sat myself to watch the golden disc finish its' travel across the sky.

I had completely lost track of time when I heard heavy boot fall behind me. Turning my head, I locked my gaze with Yang. "Hey there wonder boy, Blake said you wanted to see me. What's up?" Her head cocking to the side with the question.

I wordlessly raised my finger to my lips as if to silence the world, gesturing beside me for yang to have a seat. "It's almost at my favorite part." Yang sat down as quiet as she could, turning to me and asking "favorite part of what?"

"The sunset. It's my favorite part of the day."

Yang seemed confused. " Why is the sunset your favorite part of the day, and what does it have to do with me being here?" Her eyes became slits, suspicion clearly visible in the lilac orbs. "If this is supposed to be funny Wonderboy…" the venom in her voice left no doubt as to what would happen should the case be anything otherwise.

"The sunset has nothing to do with why you are here. You simply arrived at the same time as it. Now shush, it's about to happen."

Turning my head back to the horizon, I was able to witness the sun touch down on that line that separates the earth and sky, bathing the world in crimson, gold, and violet hues.

"This is my favorite time of day, because it is the end of today, and the beginning of tomorrow. The slate is wiped clean with the day's end." I explained to an unimpressed looking blonde.

"Now, the reason I asked you here, is that I was told you could help me with something." Yang raised an eyebrow. "I was told you could awaken my aura" I spoke after a pregnant pause.

Yangs suspicion had been replaced with burning anger. Literal burning anger, I noticed as I cried out "holy shit your hair's on fire!" Her eyes burned brighter at the statement.

"Yeah, it does that when I'm pissed off! You've got some balls, asking that!" a slight hitch in her voice. She seemed quite agitated.

"I suspect that there is more to this than Blake told me" I threw out there as I backpedaled down the slope, promptly tripping and falling on my butt. Yang doubled over in laughter as she watched me tumble down the slope. After I had finished a great deal of rolling and bouncing, she walked down the hill with amusement and trepidation in her eyes.

"You really don't know anything about this world do you?" She said, her voice suddenly quiet. "When you awaken someone's aura, you see… things. Parts of their past. Things they might have kept hidden. You get to see into their very souls. Are you sure you want it to be me who does this?" Yang seemed a bit anxious about the whole ordeal.

I guess the ball is in my court now. "This is definitely more personal than I thought it was, but if anyone was to see my past, I would want it to be the one who saved my life. Ultimately, it's your choice, though." Settling back into my grassy seat, I continued to watch the sky darken.

Back in the dorms, Blake was grinning ear to ear. Watching the events unfold with her binoculars she was able to see that Yang was the poster child of a nervous schoolgirl right now. "Oh, this is just too good, " she mumbled to herself, giggling internally at her machinations unfolding according to plan.

I was waiting for the first star to appear by the time Yang spoke again. "Alright wonder boy. I'll unlock your aura for you. But be warned, you might see some dark stuff. 'Kay?" I merely nodded my head. The blonde sat across from me. "Alright, hand up like this." she raised her hand and spread her fingers out ever so slightly. I mimicked her actions and was slightly surprised when she brought our hands together. Her skin was very soft. I heard her begin to speak. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we rise to become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." Everything seemed to go bright at that point, and I was flung across the span of a decade.

* * *

I was standing knee deep in snow, in the middle of some forest. I'm not sure at what point it snowed more, or when I had left beacon, but apparently it did and I had. I surveyed the area and saw two little girls trudging through the snow, a little girl with a familiar hood sitting in a wagon, and a tiny blonde pulling said wagon along. I recognized the blonde as Yang after much deliberation, and realized that this must be one of her memories. Satisfied with my deductive skills, I followed the girls as they walked through the forest. Yang began to call out "Mommy, where are you?" plaintively crying for her mother. It broke my heart to hear that, but there was nothing I could do but follow as her cries tugged at heartstrings I didn't know I had. Growling around the edge of the glade we had entered turned my head, and as I did so I saw beowolves emerging from the shadows, all around the children and I. Yang screamed and covered ruby as best she could, shielding her sister with her body as the beowolves sprang.

Gunshots rang out and beowolves fell like the snow around us, as a mysterious figure wielding a scythe jumped into the clearing and destroyed the pack utterly, before turning to the two girls. "Sh, sh, its okay, uncle qrow's got you, you'll be safe now. Let's go home."

Yang kept fighting on. "Gotta find mommy, gotta find her!" before collapsing in sheer exhaustion. Qrow cradled her and put her in the wagon beside ruby before grasping the handle and returning the way he came. Everything turned bright and I was cast through time again…

Looking around, I saw chaos. Bodies slamming up against another, noise assaulting the ears from every direction, and alcohol flowing as quickly as it could be consumed. It seemed that Yang was showing me a house party. I couldn't quite see her so I decided to wander around. A tall boy was leaning in on a particular blonde, and she seemed none too pleased with the situation. Her eyes were clouded with booze, but still seemed to burn as the boy continued to badger her. As I walked closer, I gradually caught the conversation. "Come on, me an' you, upstairs? I promise ill be reeaal nice" His lecherous grin couldn't possibly have made it more obvious what, or more precisely who, he wanted to be doing at that moment.

"For the last time Richard, I said no." Yang was getting more upset by the second.

"Aw, why you gotta be like that? You know you want some of this" Richard slurred out, his grin somehow getting wider.

"I wouldn't sleep with you for anything, now back off!" Yang was shouting now, and she slapped the grin right off his face.

"Wrong move, bitch!" Richard snarled as he grabbed her hands and pinned them to the wall. Maneuvering so he could free a hand, he proceeded to grope one of her breasts while she squirmed, trying to get away. "Yeah, you like that, dontcha you little slut?" he drawled out as he brought his face in closer. "Now give me a kiss, sweet cheeks." I smiled in sadistic satisfaction as I saw her eyes snap red, then watched as his body went sailing across the way to land in a pile of limbs. Yang began walking away from the party, still steaming from the encounter.

The familiar white light flashed, and I was brought to a small room with bunk beds. Yang was laying on the bottom bunk, a foot dangling off the side as she stared into nothing. A wild ruby appeared from the top bunk, hanging upside down to chatter at her older sister. "Yang, I can't sleep. Could you please read a story to me?" Rubys' face was starting to turn the color of her hood as she maintained her grip on the upper bunk. Yang remained unresponsive. "Yaaang! I know you aren't asleep!" ruby pouted as she flopped down and assumed a predatory pose towards the older sibling. "I guess I'll have to bring out THE TICKLE MONSTER!" she exclaimed, pouncing on the older sister and reaching out to tickle her sister up.

Yang reached around and expertly trapped the tiny ball of energy, sighing "I guess I'll read you a story rubes. What did you want me to read?" reaching out for a weathered book, knowing the selection already.

"The knight and the dragon!" ruby bounced up and down in glee. Settling in under her blanket, ruby anticipated the tale eagerly.

Yang opened the book, knowing exactly where it began after so many readings. "Once upon a time…" Yang began to recite the page, making faces at ruby and using various hand gestures to illustrate the book for ruby, whose face was flooded with awe. The world went white again, and I found myself back at the foot of the hill, laid flat out.

* * *

Looking over, I saw Yang sprawled next to me. The blonde bombshell was still in the midst of seeing my past, it seemed. Sitting up, I went to brush myself off and noticed that I was clean. Not to mention, I feel like a million bucks right now. Looking at my hands, I noticed my hands were glowing, one a vibrant orange and the other a deep azure hue. The air was filled with the scent of ozone. A stirring by my side brought my attention back to yang, who was sitting up. We locked gazes for a moment, before she broke the silence. "Well, that was depressing."

I chuckled and shot back, "it's almost like I lived through that or something."

Yang had a sorrowful expression on her face. "I can't believe someone could go through that and come out as strong as you did. You're something else, wonder boy. You know that?"

I shrugged, and held my hands out, palms forward, I directed her attention to the glow around them. "So… I assume this is my aura?" Ozone continued to waft through the air.

"No, that's clearly Dust" yang declared, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Anyways, it's way late, I'm going to go back to my dorm." she called out as she walked away, hips swaying with a little extra kick as she flipped her hair over one shoulder.

Paralyzed by the show put on just for me, I shake my head and race to catch up. "If you don't mind, I'll walk you back to your dorm" I offered as I matched pace beside her.

"Whatsa matter, wonder boy? Couldn't resist all this?" yang teased, with just a hint of coyness. "I know my way back just fine."

I grinned, "Oh, darn. You caught me. Whatever will I do?" I threw my hands in the air in mock frustration. "Not going to lie, I remember that the guest room is near your dorm building and I don't know the way there." Yang just laughed and shook her head.

"Come on wonder boy, I'll show you the way."

We made our way back to the dorms, jokes and puns flying back and forth the whole time. I said good night as Yang walked back into her dorm building, and my gaze was yet again directed downwards. "I hate to say goodbye, but I love to watch you leave" I mumbled to myself as I wandered back into my room.

"And there's nothing wrong with me, this is how I'm supposed to be, in the land of make believe, they don't believe in me." I sang to myself as I crashed on my bed, a smile on my face. "Tomorrow is going to be awesome" I thought to myself before passing out.


	3. Confrontation

I woke up with the sunrise, groggy as can be. "That was a weird dream. Ah well. time for food." stumbling into my kitchen, I was shocked to see Yang sitting at my table. "I- uh- but- what are you doing here?"

Yang smirked "waiting for breakfast, obviously. When i first popped in, you were still asleep. so I made myself comfy and decided to wait."

A thought popped into my still foggy mind. I never sleep with clothes on, and I hadn't touched my dresser yet. Oh sweet baby Jesus. My face abruptly went crimson as I turned about face and promptly marched back into my room, Yang catcalling from the kitchen "Hey, I was enjoying the view!" And I thought I had no shame. Returning to my kitchen in a much more decent state, I went straight to cooking, pointedly ignoring my blonde intruder. "Aw, you're no fun in the morning" Yang pouted. I merely smiled and bit back the many retorts coming to mind, focusing on my culinary work.

A few minutes later, I was dishing up two fat, fluffy pancakes the size of the plates they were served on. "Alright, Sunshine. You wanted breakfast, here you go." I set the plate down in front of her, her eyes lighting up at the brown disc of goodness. Words cannot describe the sheer destruction laid upon the pancake I had so carefully created not minutes before, but I shall try.

Yang opted to forgo cutlery and lifted the pancake as one would claim a prize, then brought it to her lips and savaged it with her teeth, ripping chunks away from the whole to be devoured. I merely watched as she destroyed the meal, piece by piece my creation sliding down her throat. Sated, the blonde let out a sigh as she slumped into her seat, eyes closed in content. "you know how to cook, Wonder boy, I'll give you that" she murmured, lidded eyes opening to stare at me.

The tension between us was palpable, disturbed only by my scroll ringing, with professor Ozpin's face appearing on the front of my screen. A message was displayed, stating that I was to meet him before my training in aura began. "sorry Yang, but O wants to see me, and I gotta go now if I'm gonna meet him on time. See you in aura training?" I said with some hope. Yang just pouted, turning away so as to hide the smile I saw beginning to creep onto her face. I really hoped that whatever she was planning wasn't too humiliating.

I met Ozpin outside Glynda's' classroom, curious as to what was so important "You rang? " I spoke up, alerting professor O to my presence.

"Ah yes, mister Ddraig. I did indeed, ring, as you put it. After your class today, you will be accompanying team RWBY on a training exercise. You will be there to observe, nothing else. I believe your class is about to start. Now hurry along, miss Goodwitch puts high value in punctuality." With that he walked away. I hurried into the room and took a seat, awaiting the knowledge I would need to succeed in beacon.

Miss Goodwitch began her class without an introduction, opting to jump right into the core of todays lesson. "Your aura is a manifestation of your soul, and has many applications. Today we will be focusing on one aspect in particular, that being your aura as a defensive tool." Miss goodwitch carried on with her lesson, instructing us on how to focus our aura into a shield. At one point, Glynda pointed at Weiss who was in perfect form, the physical manifestation of a shield maintained in front of her. The detail was perfect, down to the snowflake emblem embossed on the front. "Excellent work miss Schnee. As you can see, her concentration is flawless." At the praise delivered by miss goodwitch the shield of aura flickered and spasmed, before winking out of existence. Weiss flushed and set about recreating the event, in spite of the snickers going throughout the classroom. Class passed by with students having various degrees of success, even Jaune managed to manifest his aura, albeit briefly. I elicited curious stares as my hands became covered in sapphire gauntlets interlaced with bright orange lines. Miss Goodwitch marched up to my seat to examine my hands, turning the appendages over and examining the gauntlet in exquisite detail. "Two colours… You have a rare soul mister Flint." I became confused by her statement, investigating the phrase from all possible angles until my train of thought was derailed by the bell ringing.

I packed up my things and looked around for the team I was supposed to join. Rose petals leading me out the door and down the hallway. Continuing to trail the falling petals, I was lead to the landing pads outside the school where the four were convened, delayed by the one and only Ozpin. "And there he is, the man of the hour. Ladies, enjoy your mission." walking away with his ever present cup of coffee.

I walk up to the four, and was summarily greeted by a very perplexed Schnee. "Aura. Now" She snapped out a command, locking my wrists in her tiny grip. I was confused, but dutifully flared my aura, crafting the same gauntlet from earlier in class. Her eyes flicked between my gauntlet and my face, her lips forming a silent "Oh" as she examined my evidently curious aura. "How did you develop a second color in this? That shouldn't be possible." She asked, mild accusation mixed in with wonder.

"You do realise that I'm not from this world, right? technically speaking, nothing I do should be possible. This just happens to be a bit more obvious." Dry sarcasm permeated my voice.

"How dare you talk to me like that! Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Is this a face that looks like it cares, snowflake?" Yang is off in the corner dying of laughter. Ruby and Blake swap concerned glances.

"Alright team, we have to go now. Weiss, leave him alone. Flint, be nice." Ruby commanded, suddenly entering leader mode. I snapped a mock salute before heading towards the Bullhead. We all entered the dropship in single file, the team trying to get comfortable in the bucket seats across from myself.

"Aw, what's the matter? Come sit with us! I promise not to bite… hard." Yang teased. Weiss continued to glare at me, Blake was lost in her ninjas of love book, and Ruby was nervously looking at both of them, fidgeting in her seat.

Aw, that was no fair, now I have to return fire."Oh, really? You'd be gentle, just for me? I figured that you would be feistier, but I suppose we do have an audience." A slight smirk graced my face, betraying my true intentions. Ruby proceeded to become the colour of her namesake, with an exclamation of "MEEP!" as she hid within the depths of her hood, burying her face in Weiss's shoulder. Even Yang seemed a bit shocked at that one.

Weiss took the silence as an opportunity to scold Yang and myself. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Thanks to you, our team leader has been traumatised right before we start a mission! could you be any more shameless?!"

I just shook my head, my smirk becoming a full blown grin. "don't tempt me, Ice queen." yet another muffled meep was heard from our fearless leader. Before Weiss could launch into me again, I raised my hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'll leave it be." as I settled back into my seat, Weiss began a tirade on Yang. The smile never left my face as the gears inside my head began to turn. after all, I'm entitled to my fun as well, right?

Exiting the dropship, I surveyed the area. Despite there being copious amounts of snow back at beacon, the forest seemed to have been preserved in mid autumn, thunderstorms and all. "All right team, you know the drill. Sweep the area, eliminate the ursa, meet back here and be home in time for cookies! Weiss, Blake, you two are with me. We don't need the ursa knowing we are here because you start bickering. Yang, Flint… behave, please?"

I grinned, and saluted "yes Ma'am" as I turn around to Yang. "Alright, show me how its done sunshine." The two of us walked off into the woods.

Blake turned to ruby and spoke up. "Ruby, do you really think that was wise, sending those two off together?"

"I'm hoping that by the time the mission is over, those two will have gotten all of that… ookiness out of their system." Ruby replied simply.

Blake seemed happy with the idea, before realizing something. "Ruby. Its Yang."

"Oh no, what have I done!" The redhead made as if to disappear, but was stopped by weiss grabbing onto her collar.

"You dolt! They have already disappeared! No way are you going to find those two… degenerates! Who knows what they are doing to each other right now, I am not letting you go and find them and that is that is final, Ruby Rose!" Weiss would brook no argument and dragged ruby behind her, Blake following the duo, rolling her eyes the whole time.

* * *

Yang and I had been walking for a short time in silence, side by side. Yang pulled out an energy bar and began to mow down, which was my cue to drop a particular bombshell. "So… how long has Weiss had the hots for your sister?" Bits of energy bar flew everywhere as Yang performed a classic spit take.

"How long has weiss WHAT?!" yang began to stalk towards me menacingly, grabbing me and slamming me against a tree.

"First of all, OW. Second, you mean you didn't notice the looks Weiss was giving me when I made Ruby redder than her cloak?" I asked, feigning uninterest. "Or how about the fact that our resident Ice queen was comforting your sister? Come on, I've been here a whole three days and I can see it." Yang dropped me and took a step back. I had set the gears in motion, now I had to sit back and reap the rewards. Yangs face began to light up with the realisation of what I had just pointed out.

"Oh my god, you are so right! this is perfect!" Yang began giggling, still one of the most musical sounds I had heard. "It's adorable! Oh, I can't wait to blackmail Weiss with this!" I just smiled, things were turning out perfectly. Yangs face abruptly turned serious. "Flint. Go get Ruby." grabbing me by the belt, I was thrown down the path we had taken. I lifted myself off the ground to the sight of yang taking on three ursa, and more beginning to surround the area. Gunshots rang out as she continued her dance of death. "I said GO, wonderboy!" yang called out.

I began to run down the path as fast as I could, calling out for the rest of team RWBY. stumbling into the clearing we had started in, I realized I had no idea where anyone was. "Wait… I'm an idiot." I muttered to myself. pulling out my scroll, I opened up my contacts list and promptly dialled up Ruby. "Ruby speaking!" Thank god she picked up right away.

"Ruby, Yang is under attack! Go up the trail you sent us on, we arent far from it!"

"On it." click. I guess that takes care of that. Time to go back, I can at least do what I was sent to do. Returning to where I had ran off, I saw a pile of ursa thrashing inwards, followed by what I can best describe as an explosion of fire and fury.

Yang's eyes were blood red, and flames cascaded from her hair. She laughed and punched her gauntlets together, connecting perfectly with the thunder rolling across the sky. "Come on!" she snarled as she charged the ursai, sending the grimm flying like so many bowling pins. It became comical to watch actually. The sky lit up with bolts of fire coming down. A bolt arced into a tree and destroyed it, shards of smoking timber flying everywhere. The clap of thunder was deafening. I stepped backwards to avoid being impaled as a significant chunk of the tree came sailing to land where I had been standing. looking back at the blonde, I watched as she juggled an ursa with blasts from her gauntlets. She laughed, carefree as the wind blasting around us and wasn't paying attention, and that was what brought about her downfall. An ursa reared up behind her and, towering for a moment, it launched her across the way into a tree.I heard a crack, and Yangs body go limp.

Something in my mind snapped at seeing that. Reaching up, I took hold of a branch. Hatred fuelling my strength, I broke the branch off the tree with a hand. Using my impromptu spear, I charged at the mass of ursai. Screaming incoherently, I launched myself up the back of an ursa. Locking my legs around the monsters neck, I began smashing the end of my spear into its cranial ridge. Blood and brain matter went everywhere as I stabbed through the back of its skull, removing the stick with a squelching sound. "You want her, you go through me!" wrenching the impromptu weapon out, I brandished it at another. "COME ON! YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!" I bellowed out, desperately trying to bring my aura of armor up again. One ursa roared in reply, and I took the opportunity to push my crude spear down through its throat, making a grisly puppet of the beast. It thrashed about, no longer able to breathe and I was tossed aside like a rag doll, which left me weaponless against the rest, but I still wasn't sated. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" I screamed in defiance. I was abruptly proven wrong by an ursa who slammed me into the ground. My aura flared to life as I defended myself from its massive claws.

Yang dusted herself off, standing up in time to witness the ursa commence pounding on my form. her semblance flared back to life stronger than before, and once again ursai went flying. "I told you to stay back!" Yang yelled at me as she picked me up.

"You looked like you needed help, besides I can't let you have all the fun now can I" I said, feeling very battered. Yang tore off to deal with the rest of the pack. A rumbling that sounded very similar to thunder had me turning to the side, and having the supreme pleasure of being nose to nose with hands down the BIGGEST ursa I had seen. "Oh hello." I watched as a paw raised up, and then I saw a great deal of things from my vantage point in the sky. I stopped seeing as much after I began bouncing and finally skidded my way across the battlefield, coming to a stop near where I had began my fight. The giant ursa charged at me as I scrambled back to my feet in the mud. Roaring, the ursa bore down on me while I fumbled for a solid footing.

Something clicked in place with my mind, and I suddenly became aware of just what I could do. raising my hands, I caused a rift to open in front of myself, and above the spike that at one point was a tree. The ursa barrelled through the opening and promptly fell out the other, impaling itself upon the tree with its own momentum. Flicking my wrists, I closed both portals before I looked at my hands. Again, they glowed blue and orange, the tangerine hue dominating my aura this time. My mind whirled with ideas as hidden facets of my semblance came to the forefront of my mind. My lips twitched as a smirk crossed my lips, creeping into a full blown grin that graces only the mad. Chuckling to myself, I reclaimed my lost ground in a most unorthodox manner. Opening a portal both above and below myself, I stepped forwards into a freefall. The world rapidly became a blur of blue, green, and brown as I approached speeds normally considered unhealthy to the human body.

The stress of freefall was wearing at the aura shielding my body, and I adjusted the trajectory of my fall just short of ninety degrees. The adaptation in direction left my mind off-kilter, as it were. I reoriented myself mid-flight, in time to identify a stationary object standing in my path. I flared my aura into a shield just in time to blast through said object, flinging bits of grimm everywhere as I plowed through the unfortunate ursa.

Fists and shells were flying in equal measure as Yang brawled with an ursa, each blow staggering the Grimm further back. In a desperate attempt to save itself, the Ursa reared up on its hind legs, preparing to crush the blonde huntress. As it reached the apex of its strike however, an azure streak flew into the grimm, causing the beast to erupt in a shower of gore and bones, leaving nothing but the legs the beast had been standing upon moments before. as the limbs collapsed to the ground in a puddle of effluence, Yang was able to summon only one word from her lips.

"What."

The collision with the grimm was most unwelcome, as I was now careening in an unknown direction, bouncing off every conceivable tree and stone in the thrice damned forest. I had picked up a collection of sticks, rocks, bruises and cuts in my tumble I discerned as a tree brought an abrupt end to my flight. Staggering to my full height, my eyes found themselves alighting on multiple ursa. "Dear tonight, I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you hate me. Can we kiss and make up?" I voiced my apologies to the uncaring sky, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Returning my gaze to the pack of riled up grimm, the warrior in my blood boiled to the surface as I voiced my thoughts.

"Bring it on."

I dropped into a ready stance as the bearlike grimm charged at me en masse, waiting for the right moment to present itself. The creatures came closer… Closer… I could almost smell the creatures putrid breath as I activated my semblance, tumbling backwards through the newly made portal to launch myself over the horde of grimm. Observing one beast falling through, I snapped the portal shut on the grimm, freeing the creatures organs from its bony prison. Returning to my feet, I turned to the remainder of the pack and took the offensive. Charging at the grimm, I opened yet another portal on the ground in front of me and launched myself towards the largest ones face. I negated my portals and opened two side by side, behind the grimm I was flying at. Twisting my body, I landed on the Ursa major and kicked off, pushing my latest victim into my trap. as the beast stumbled between the openings, I clapped my hands, sealing the rifts again and bisecting the grimm. Pure, unadulterated terror shone in the eyes of the creatures as I cackled maniacally, turning my gaze to the beasts. "Well? What are you waiting for? RUN!" I screamed at the cowering grimm, and with that cue, they bolted. The cheshire grin never left my face as I hunted down and dispatched the remainder of the pack in gruesome fashion. My bloodlust sated, I decided I should probably return to the team. I pulled my scroll out and activated the communications ping, using it to track my way back to the team, and Yang. Why was I singling her out? Her opinion shouldn't matter more than the others, but for some reason it did. I found Yang in the clearing I had blasted through earlier, surrounded by piles of ursa. I grinned, and jogged over. "Hey there Sunshine, how ya doin?"

"I'm fine, but what about you? What the hell was that?!" Yang exploded. "One second that ursa major was going to use you as an hors d'oeuvre, the next you're walking around killing everything like a total badass!" She seemed awestruck at the power I hold.

"I'm not sure. Hey Yang?"

"Yeah?"

I paused for a minute, trying to figure out what I wanted to ask. "Do you enjoy killing?"

She turned to me, concern in her eyes. "like, do I enjoy killing Grimm? Yeah, I do. Every Grimm I smash is one less that can hurt someone important to me. Why?"

I turned away from the blonde huntress and hugged my knees. "When I was fighting, I felt something dark in me. I enjoyed killing those monsters, a lot more than I should have. I saw blood and guts everywhere, and I caused it. Instead of feeling nauseous or anything, seeing that made my blood run faster than before. Killing those things got me excited. I'm not any better than those things out there."

"Nope. You are doing all of remnant a favor with every Grimm you kill, regardless of how you do it. The fact that fighting is in your blood doesn't change anything about who you are."

I stared at my toes, unwilling to look at my partner, knowing that I would cave as soon as I did. "I'm not so sure I like that part of me is the problem."

"Well, your options are this. You can be disgusted with yourself every time you do the right thing, or you can accept that this is part of who you are and feel better all around." Yang commented, giving me some tough love. I instinctively reached out, grasping the brawler and tugging her into a hug. Burying my head into her shoulder, I sat there for quite some time as i tried to sort through my feelings. Pulling away from the comfort that is Yang, I locked my gaze with hers. Trapped in her hypnotic eyes, I felt my head pulling forward, ever so slowly. Our breathing slowed down as I travelled closer to the brawlers face, and I found myself entranced by her mouth, tracing the curve and swell of her lips with my eyes as I travelled closer...

We broke apart after hearing footfalls and a familiar "meep!" Turning away from Yang, I saw the three huntresses surveying the carnage, Ruby pointedly looking anywhere but at us. Our crimson team leader spoke up first. "Jeez Yang, how did you do this much damage? This is unusual, even for you." Yang and I shared a knowing look. I guess I'd be the one to break the news.

"Turns out Yang can no longer lay claim to 'most destructive teammate' since I'm here now." I commented in an offhand manner. The three huntresses turned to me, and I raised my hands, gesturing at the chaos I had caused, grinning like a cheshire cat the whole time. "I lay claim to the title 'King of carnage' from here on out." I say with a cheeky grin. Sending a wink Yang's way, I said with some finality. "My first decree as King is that naptime shall begin… Now." With that, I fell on my face, passed out before I hit the ground.

Ruby began calling in for extraction, Yang, Weiss, and Blake convened to discuss my sudden onset of destruction. Yang opened the topic "You guys missed out. we were fighting the ursa, and I'm having a *blast*, when all of a sudden an ursa punches the shit out of me. I go flying and bounce off a tree, and wonder boy over there goes beserk. he killed two of them with a really big stick, and then an ursa major decided to pound the shit out of him, then he chopped it up! then he started pointing at ursa, and they- and then he- I was gonna punch one- and it just- It was awesome!" Yang finished, totally out of breath.

Blake looked at Yang for a while before glancing at weiss. "Did you understand any of that?"

"Nope. Did you?" Weiss commented.

"Nope."

Ruby raced over to the group. "Okay guys, the dropship is on its way- why is Flint passed out? and why is Yang breathing so hard?"

"We'll explain when we get back." Blake and Weiss echoed.

the drop ship arrived without ceremony, and the team of four boarded, yang hauling my unconscious body aboard like a sack of potatoes. Ruby summed up the thoughts of the team in a single sentence.

"Let's go home, guys."


	4. Wakey Wakey

My waking sight was that of a familiar hospital room. Looking over, I saw I.V's stuck in my arm, pumping me full of I don't know what. "Gah, needles." As I pulled the tape of that secured the needles, my mind wandered back to figure out how I got here. I got scraps of the night before with the ursa, and team RWBY. Pulling out the needles, I focused on keeping my breathing steady and even. Discarding my I.V tower, I pulled myself out of bed. I winced as I put my feet on the tiled floor. "Christ almighty that's cold." Looking around, I could see no sign of my clothes. I guess I'll get changed back in my dorm. I stepped out of my ward and into a barren hallway. I strode down, following the signs to the exit. I stepped out of the hospital back onto school grounds which were unfortunately covered in snow. "Ah, this is going to suck, so hard!" I began trudging my way through the shin deep snow, cursing each step.

Warmth began to seep through me as I entered the dorm, stomping my feet to dislodge some of the snow stuck to my legs. "Thank god it's night time, I'd hate to run into someone while I'm stuck in a paper dress… Hi there." My monologue was interrupted by a sleepy eyed ruby stepping into the hallway.

"Hi flint, you're up early." Ruby said with a yawn. "What are you doing here? The hospital said you wouldn't be out for a while." she looked confused. I guess that makes two of us.

"I, uh… I think you're dreaming ruby. Go back to bed."

"Kay. Night Flint."

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Carrying on my way down the hall, I made it back to my room without incident. As I walked in, my stomach began to imitate a beowolf in heat. I grabbed my stomach as it performed a gut-wrenching growl, and proceeded with all haste to my fridge. Pulling open the door on my fridge, I saw that everything was starting to go bad already. "What the hell? I just bought this with Yang yesterday!" I spoke up. Trimming the decay off of my food, I nuked a concoction of the randomest materials before scarfing it all down. "Man that hit the spot. Now what to do?" I thought to myself as I realized it was close to three in the morning. Sleep was not an option as I was well rested, and I had just eaten as well. "Might as well study" my internal monologue continued. I sat at the desk i had been provided, glancing at the pile of requisite materials there. The pile seemed significantly larger than the last time I had seen it. I quickly abandoned the Idea of studying, and decided to meditate. Moving to the center of my room, I sat cross legged, one hand covering the loose fist I held in my lap. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my mind. Falling into a rhythm that had been in my head, I allowed the song to drown out everything else. "Lay beside me... Tell me what they've done. Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run." I whispered as the song continued through my head. Metallica smothers every thought in my head. When the song had finished, my mind was empty, and I felt much more relaxed.

* * *

Seven rolled around, and I decided now would be a good time to 'wake up'. I showered and put on new clothes, stepping into the hallway. As I traversed the halls, I noticed a sound emanating from around the corner to team RWBY's hall. Walking along, the sounds only got louder. There was definite shouting coming from the girls' room, never a good sign in the morning.

I raised my hand to knock on the door, but Ruby beat me to the punch as she blasted out of the room, a trail of rose petals falling behind her. I blinked a few times, shrugged and knocked on the askew frame, not wanting to enter if I wasn't welcome. Weiss showed up at the door, looking worse for wear. "Ruby, I- oh. It's you. Is there something you need?" Her voice went flat after realizing I was not her red haired teammate.

I looked hard at the snowy heiress, thinking before I spoke. "That depends, am I welcome right now?" I asked, not wanting to interrupt anything.

"Well, I was just about to leave so…" She said softly, looking down the hall at the decaying petals.

"Was it bad?" I asked quietly.

My question threw Weiss off balance. "Wha- was what bad?"

"Your fight. Ruby nearly knocked me over on her way out, and I heard shouting from down the hall. What happened?" Concern touched my voice.

The ivory princess's eyes hardened at that statement. "There was no fight, and you shouldn't poke your nose into others business!" With that, she began stalking her way down the hall, following the petals. Once she had pushed past me, I noticed her shoulders slumped down as she hung her head. I stepped in, figuring the ice queen could resolve the issue without help.

Once I entered, I saw Blake either hugging Yang, or attempting to stop her from charging down the door, I'm not sure which.

"Yang, no matter how angry you are right now, I can't let you 'punch that bitch's head off'." Blake said, still attempting to stop her partner from thundering down the door.

"And why is that, Blake? Are you taking her side? She hurt my sister, and she's going to pay for it." Yang roared out, stepping forward slowly, dragging the dark teammate with her.

"I'm on no ones 'side' as you put it, I simply don't want my team to dissolve is all. If you kill Weiss, you go to prison, and Ruby would never forgive you. I don't want to lose my team… I don't want to lose my family again." Blake clutched at Yang tighter with the last statement, the blonde stopping as Blake explained herself.

"Fine, kitten. I'll leave her alone for now, but I swear I'm going to feed her to a deathstalker one of these days."

I decided now would probably be the best time to make my presence known. "Ahem. I wouldn't be interrupting anything would I?" I spoke up. Blake detached herself from her blonde counterpart, stepping back as she did so. "Your morning seems to be… eventful." I commented. "So, what did the Ice Queen do this time?"

"Ruby wasn't thinking when she spoke up this morning, and said some things she didn't mean, and Weiss freaked out on her!" Yang snapped out, frustration still raging through her. "Ruby just wasn't awake yet and… and..." Yang started to tear up.

Blake spoke up. "Weiss 'has' been acting different lately… she snaps at Ruby more than usual, and can't stop staring at her for some reason."

I stepped over, with my arms out wide. Closing the distance, I wrapped my arms around Yang, both securing her and comforting her. She turned and buried her head in my shoulder, hugging my waist. "You give good hugs" could be heard muffled in my shoulder.

"It's one of my better qualities. Would now be an inappropriate time to mention that you are really hot?" I commented, starting to roast from the blondes semblance leaking out. Yang's head snapped back, and I quickly tacked on "It's like I'm hugging a space heater!"

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she tried to step away. I just hugged her tighter in response.

"I never said it was a bad thing, sunshine" as I held her tighter. I don't know how long we stood like that, but when Yang and I let go, she seemed much calmer. "Better?" I asked, holding her at arm's length.

"Much better, thanks for that. You have really nice hugs. And sunshine? Really?" She said. "But how did you get out of the hospital so soon? The doctors said your injuries would keep you in for another week!" She began searching me for any sign of injuries.

"Wait… hospital? Injuries? What?" I asked, confused. "Another week? How long was I in there? And what happened to me?" I joined Yang in her search for my apparent injuries.

Yang looked up at me, clearly somewhat irritated. "Your injuries from the Ursa fight, dummy. You had cuts and bruises everywhere, and one hell of a concussion. Plus, you managed to drain your aura almost completely. The doctors said it was a miracle you lived."

"I don't remember much of the Ursa fight…" I said. "I remember you kicking ass, and then you flew across the way, and everything is red and hazy after that." I shook my head, trying to remember. "What am I missing here! Gaah!" I tossed my hands in the air. "Well, there's no point in trying to force myself to remember something, is there? If I can't remember it, it must not have been important. Let's go eat breakfast." Once I had turned around, Yangs shoulders dropped.

"Yeah. Sure, let's get something to eat."

* * *

Weiss was stalking down the halls, surveying the area for a certain crimson huntress. "Ruby, Ruby! Where are you?" She cried out, adding with a small voice, "Come back to me." The Ice queen began to consider where her teammate would be hiding. Several options ran through her mind, almost as fast as ruby does… "Concentrate Weiss." She said, mentally slapping herself. But no matter how hard she focused as she marched on, her mind kept wandering back to the events of that morning…

The unholy shriek emanating from Ruby's whistle had started off the day, bodies falling from beds. "Goood morning everyone! Let's go, we've got to get ready for classes!" The crimson ball of energy bounced into the shower, the sound of water pelting down following immediately after. The rest of the team began to rise, going through the motions of a productive morning.

Weiss was waiting outside the bathroom door, needing a shower. She pounded on the door to get Ruby's attention. "Hurry up you dolt, I need to shower!" After a muffled confirmation, Weiss sat down and began to plan her day out using her scroll. It was during said planning that Weiss's eye was caught by one rather interesting detail. "Ruby, you colossal buffoon, it's the weekend!" For someone so icy, Weiss had a way of exploding rather heatedly. "You inconsiderate brat, you never think anything through! You are such an immature child!" Weiss screamed at the door separating her from Ruby.

The door opened to reveal Ruby standing right there, shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back tears. She was unable to look Weiss in the eyes as she screamed back "Stop yelling at me! I forgot it was the weekend, and didn't want to be late, because that makes you mad too! Why are you so mean lately?! It's like you hate me or something!" With that, Ruby tore out of the room, vanishing to hide… somewhere.

"Ruby I… I don't…" Weiss began, but stopped, seeing as she had already disappeared.

"What the fuck is your problem, bitch!" Yang hollered at the alabaster figure, who had already slumped to the floor.

"I...I…"

"You had best go and make this right, or I will end you. Understood?" Yang spoke very quietly, only adding to the aura of fury radiating off the brawler, alongside her flames. Weiss slowly picked herself up, and began to make her way out of the room.

"Which brings me to now… where did she go?" Weiss mumbled to herself. It wasn't fair, she didn't need Yang threatening to kill her, when the sight of Ruby's quicksilver eyes brimming with tears, and those trembling lips had brought the ivory princess's wrath crashing around her, leaving nothing but guilt. Weiss had never been able to resist Ruby when she used her 'puppy dog eyes' as Yang put it, and seeing tears in them wracked her with unhappiness stronger than she had known before. "Why can't I get her out of my head!?" Weiss thought aloud.

"Can't get who out of your head, miss Schnee?"

Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin, turning in anger towards the unknown intruder to her innermost thoughts. "Keep your nose out of- OH! Hello professor Ozpin." She was quite clearly flustered after having her train of thought derailed. "It's nothing, professor. Just thinking out loud. Trying to clear my head." Weiss finished, leaving her sentence trailing as she disappeared into thought again.

Ozpin smiled, and gestured to the bench he was sitting on. "Come sit, miss Schnee. The best way to solve something is to discuss it, I find."

Weiss shook her head, silently refusing the professors offer. She spoke up. "Thank you professor, but this is my problem, and I will solve it as such." She turned to walk away when the professor's voice caught her once more.

"Very well, miss Schnee. My office is always open, should you wish to speak with me." Ozpin offered, a smile on his face.

Weiss stood for a moment before claiming the seat offered by the professor. "Professor, is it… normal... For girls to think about other girls?" the fair girl asked, her voice suddenly timid.

Ozpin considered the question before answering with a question of his own. "Would I be correct in assuming that these thoughts are of a romantic nature?" He asked his pupil. Weiss began to shake her head, then stopped as if to nod, then dropped her head in her hands.

"I... I... I'm not sure professor, and that's what has me worried. I can't stop thinking about Ruby, and now I might have wrecked our friendship, and I don't know what's happening anymore!" Weiss blurted out, clapping her hands over her mouth after she realized just what had come out.

Ozpin merely smiled more, and took a sip of his ever present coffee. "Well, miss Schnee, if I had to say, it seems as though you have feelings for a certain miss Rose." A squeak escaped Weiss's fingers as she processed the revelation.

"I can't be a- I mean my family- I'm not…" Weiss trailed off, leaving Ozpin to finish her statement.

"You aren't gay, is that what you were going to say?" Weiss merely nodded. "And what, may I ask, Is the problem with that?" Ozpin asked, leaning forward.

"My father doesn't approve of homosexuality." Was the only answer Ozpin received.

The headmaster pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Miss Schnee, love comes in many forms, sometimes unexpectedly so. If Ruby is what makes you happy, I suggest you tell her how you feel." Ozpin stood up, collecting his cane as he stood. "I saw her heading towards the library earlier, you may want to check there." Ozpin offered as he walked away.

Weiss simply sat on the bench, her head whirling with a million different thoughts. "What if I am gay? I can't be gay, my father would disown me. What about Ruby? She can't feel the same way, can she? It doesn't matter, She hates me now anyways." But Ozpin's advice rang through her head: "I'd suggest telling her how you feel." Standing up, Weiss began marching with purpose to the library. "Ruby Rose, you and I need to talk."

* * *

Yang sat across from me, pushing her food around her plate, attempting to stare a hole through the ceramic. "What's the matter, Blondie? Not hungry anymore?" I asked, wolfing down everything in sight. "I feel like I haven't eaten in a month" I commented through a mouthful of various breakfast items.

"Well, technically speaking, it was only a week." Blake commented. I can proudly say I didn't even choke when the reserved member of the group spoke up.

"Oh, hi Blake, I didn't see you join us." I spoke after clearing my mouth of debris.

"It would be hard to, considering how tall your pile of food was when I arrived" Blake shot back at me.

"Are you hearing this Yang? A documented case of sass from Blake!" I declared. Yang made a noncommittal grunt and continued to push her food around. Turning to Blake, I lowered my voice. "Okay, you're her partner. What's wrong with her today?" Blake merely shrugged and returned to her book.

Suddenly Nora popped up "Hey, you two? How are our lovebirds doing?" I dismissed my confusion as typical Nora question syndrome. Yang however, did not.

"Nora. Do you enjoy Ren's pancakes?" Yang asked, cold as can be.

Nora didn't even think about the question. "Of course, silly! Ren makes the best pancakes ever! Yesterday he made me-" Nora was cut off by a very icy Yang.

"If you continue with your original question, I will personally ensure Ren never makes pancakes again." yang uttered this threat while still trying to bore a hole in the plate with her eyes.

Nora gasped, and with a flash had disappeared along with a sighing Ren over her shoulder. The stoic companion merely waved before disappearing around a corner.

"All right, what the hell was that about?" I directed my very pointed question at Yang, who refused to look up from her engrossing plate. That's it, I thought to myself.

Grabbing the brawlers' plate, I opened a portal over the garbage across the way, and promptly dumped the entire thing in. "Hey! I wasn't finished with that!" Yang complained, finally looking up. I locked eyes with her, and let go. "You just threatened your friend's arms or possibly his life over a question his partner asked? What the fuck is your problem?" I threw my arms out to the side, demonstrating my aggression clearly. Yang just ducked her head.

"It's better if you didn't remember… It's clearly not important right?" Bitterness seeped its way into the Blondes voice as she answered. I sat back down, and leaned across the table.

"Well, clearly you think it's important enough to hide it from me, so let's hear it." I spoke

"No, really, it's fine." Yang was trying to hide behind her hair now.

"I'll go ask Nora, and then you'll have to kill Ren, and neither of us wants that, because then Nora breaks everyone's legs, and I'm fond of my legs the way they are.." I countered. Yang sighed, and relented.

"What is the last thing you remember from the Ursa fight. Even if it is hazy" the golden haired woman spoke up.

I strained my memory. "I remember… I found my semblance and was destroying the Ursa… and blood… lots of blood."

"Well, there was one more thing." Yang said, her voice getting softer with every word. "After you had destroyed the Ursa pack, you and I… Hey look its the Ice Queen and my sister. Time to go break Weiss's pretty little fa… she trailed off and replace the scowl with a smirk. "So, that's what it was, huh? Can't say I saw that one coming." Following Yang's gaze, I saw that the two huntresses in question were walking hand in hand. "Huh. Guess I owe Jaune some money" Was the only statement I could make.

Yang turned and stared at me until I gave an explanation, as she cocked Ember Celica. "Jaune and I had a bet going on as to whether the Ice queen would go out with anybody. I thought it was an investment! I mean, who would have thought the Ice Queen was capable of love!" Yang just shook her head at me and laughed. Smiling, I caught her hand. "Hey, you never answered my question."

"Uh…"


	5. It's a Date

Weiss steeled her courage as she stood in front of the library. "Alright, you can do this. Just go in, find the girl you screamed at for being a caring, sensitive person, and tell them exactly how you feel, and hope that she feels the same as you do. No big deal." Despite all her preparations, Weiss still found herself unable to open the library door. "Damn it girl, you are a Schnee! You will be responsible for the biggest dust company on the planet. Now put on your big girl panties, and get in there!" With one last mental kick in the rear, Weiss finally opened the door, and stepped inside. "Alright, now for the hard part." Where would Ruby hide? Weiss decided to enlist the aid of a librarian.

"Excuse me miss, I'm trying to find someone. You wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red cape pass this way, would you?" Weiss asked the librarian.

The bookish woman turned to face Weiss, her features set in stone. "As a matter of fact, Ruby did come through here, and she left very clear instructions that we were not to aid you in finding her. I believe her words were "If that white haired meany comes looking for me, tell her not to bother."

"Oh, you dolt!" Weiss muttered under her breath, holding her head in one hand. "Miss, I need to find Ruby, I need to make things right. I have to apologize to her, and I have something important to tell her."

The librarians stone gaze was cracked by a small smile. "Ruby specifically said not to help you, so my hands are bound." Weiss's face fell and she turned away. As the alabaster heiress was walking to the door, the librarian called out "I would, however, recommend you brush up on your mathematics before you go!"

Weiss stopped to think about the curious statement, turning to frame the librarian with piercing eyes, but the woman had returned to her many duties. "What does she mean, 'Brush up on my mathematics'? My math is perfectly fi- Oh, very clever Ruby." Weiss set out towards the math section, going over her speech in her head in an attempt to distract herself.

It was in the middle of this reverie that she walked into someone, knocking the both of them over. "Watch where you are- Oh, Ruby! I was looking for you!" Weiss called. Ruby sat up, and promptly ran in the opposite direction, straight into a glyph." Ruby Rose, I have spent the better part of my morning being worried sick about you, and there is a lot we have to discuss! I will not let you disappear on me again!"

Ruby stood up, hurt and anger clear to see in her eyes. "Don't bother Weiss, I understand. I can't lead the team, I'm a failure as a huntress, and I'm not good enough to be your friend! I get it, okay? You're the Amazing Weiss Schnee, and I'm… I'm just nobody. You clearly should have been the team leader. You are so much more organized and efficient, and I just run really fast and get in the way and eat too many cookies and I'm really immature and I have a problem paying attention at the right moments and-" Ruby was cut off by a resounding crack and the sharp stinging that followed.

"Ruby Rose. You are an insufferable, childish, immature, hyperactive, impulsive, overreacting, obnoxious dolt! But beyond that, you are the most courageous, level headed, compassionate, sensitive, brave, honest, loyal, and quite frankly amazing woman I have ever met. I am lucky to have you as my team leader, and even luckier that you consider me to be a friend after all of the horrible things I have said and done, especially in light of the past week. You are simply beyond description, as no mere words do you any form of justice. What I am trying to say Ruby, is that since we first met I have grown fond of you and have even come to have feelings for you. Now I have spent all morning and the better part of my afternoon tracking you down to your excellent hiding spot to ask you one question."

Weiss exhaled, trying to calm herself before asking one of the most important questions she would ask.

"Ruby, the feelings I spoke of are not one of friendship, they are something more."

Weiss had dropped to both knees and held on to one of ruby's hands. "Will you, Ruby Rose, be my girlfriend?"

Needless to say, Ruby was stunned. "Weiss, I- I- Um… I..." Weiss looked up at ruby, hope filling her eyes. "I- I- I don't know!" Ruby quietly said. "I- uh… um… English, why?" Weiss sat back, sorrow replacing the hope that had been there.

"It's okay Ruby, I had figured I hurt you too much for this to work, but I had to tell you sometime, right?" Weiss stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Ruby's forehead before running away, wiping tears from her eyes as she did so.

Ruby stood still, her mind frozen at what just happened. "Did- did Weiss just ask me to be her girlfriend? I'm not dreaming am I? If I am dreaming, this is the part where yang rides in on a unicorn with ice cream, isn't it?" After several seconds of no Yang, no unicorn, and no ice cream, Ruby realized that Weiss had, indeed, asked her to be her girlfriend. "Oh god, what have I done? I didn't answer Weiss, and now she thinks I hate her, and I have to go fix this!" There was a flurry of petals where Ruby used to stand.

If Weiss had been running through the halls, she was in a full on sprint back to the dorm rooms. "Stupid, Stupid! You knew she wouldn't like you back, yet you still spoke up! Why would you do that?" Weiss berated herself as she ran. As she entered the room, Weiss looked around to find something to barricade the door. The broken hearted heiress propped a bookcase up against the door and, satisfied that it would hold, crawled into a corner and cried.

Ruby was blasting around Beacon, frantically calling out for the alabaster figure. "Weiss, Weiss! Where are you?" Ruby's mind was going as fast as she was. If Weiss had thought that She had been rejected, where would she go? As Ruby sorted through the various areas she could imagine Weiss in right now, she became fixated on one in particular. "Oh, Weiss no!" Ruby exhaled as she tore off towards the roof.

"Hallway two, up the fourth flight of stairs, past team CRDL's room, through the access hall, up the stairs again." As Ruby spoke, the related areas flashed by in a blur. In moments, the crimson reaper was standing on the roof of the dorms, an area Jaune and Pyrrha frequented. As Ruby scanned the roof, she saw no sign of Weiss. Frantically dashing to the edge, Ruby sighed in relief as she failed to find Weiss ten stories below. The huntress in training sat down, leaning against the lip of the building. "Where could she be? I've looked everywhere" Ruby thought to herself. There was a moment of silence as the wind stopped whistling, and Ruby heard a curious sound from below. "Is someone there?" The scythe wielder called out, looking over the ledge again. This time she saw curtains flowing out of a window, and they looked very familiar. "Hey, those are mine!" Ruby hooked crescent rose into the lip and swung herself into the room, feeling very much like a famous explorer. Her landing was flawless, with the exception of crescent rose not fitting in the window. This caused Ruby to careen into a rolling stop, ending with her cape hiding her face. She stood up, trying to find the intruder.

Scanning the room, Ruby laid eyes upon a white ball lying in the corner. "Weiss? Is that you? Oh my God, I found you! I've been running around like crazy, because I thought about what you said earlier and I thought I was dreaming but I wasn't dreaming because Yang didn't have ice cream OR a unicorn, I was kind of disappointed with that but that's not the point, it wasn't a dream so you actually really do 'like me like me' and I never thought that it would happen, but I couldn't talk properly earlier and I was stuttering and you ran away and I didn't get to tell you how I felt Weiss, which was really weird because you were kind of mean the whole first semester, but I guess everything worked out because I kinda figured that you getting mad at me was just you trying to make me a better leader and I pushed myself really hard to try and be the best I could, so I could make you really proud and you wouldn't see me as just a little brat who snuck in anymore. But I really do like you as well!" Ruby finally ran out of steam, and sat down next to the ball of white. "Weiss? Are you going to say something?"

The Heiress uncurled herself and stared at Ruby, her ice blue eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying. "Ruby… you like me as well?"

"Well, yeah. You're this amazing, graceful-" ruby was abruptly cut off by Weiss, who had tackled her with a hug.

"You mean to tell me that I've been crying since the library for no reason whatsoever? You insufferable dolt!" Weiss pounded on ruby's shoulder with a loose fist as she sniffled into the other. "Now I've given my confession, I'm a snot nosed wreck, and I need to tidy myself up before we go eat." Standing up, Weiss marched into the bathroom. Pausing at the doorway, Weiss turned to the stunned huntress. "Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

After Weiss had straightened herself out and mitigated the damage to her appearance, the two set out towards the cafeteria. Weiss was shocked when Ruby grabbed her hand, but rather than freaking out about the consequences, Weiss just squeezed Ruby's hand in appreciation. The newly formed couple approached the cafeteria, Weiss getting more and more anxious. Ruby could feel the tension radiating off of Weiss, and decided to speak up about it. "Weiss, what's wrong?"

Weiss started up. "It's just that- Its- I've never had anyone before. What if they stare when we go inside?"

Ruby turned to her nervous heiress and grasped her other hand. "MY heiress. Thats something that will take some getting used to." She thought to herself with a giggle, before looking Weiss in the eye. "Weiss, let them stare, let them gawk. All that matters is that I have you, and you have me. The rest of the world should be so lucky as us." Ruby finished with a smile. "So don't worry, we'll go in there with our heads held high, and deal with whatever comes our way."

"When did you have time to come up with those ridiculously romantic lines, dolt? It sounds like you planned this out beforehand."

Ruby pointedly looked anywhere but at Weiss and uttered a drawn out "Nooo… maybe."

The achromatic heiress simply pulled Ruby into a hug. "You dunce. Alright, let's go in."

Taking her girlfriend by the hand, Ruby led the two into the cafeteria. As the two had expected, heads turned at the two holding hands. The cafeteria went absolutely silent for a second, the quiet seemed deafening. Almost as quickly as it had stopped, the flow of conversations throughout resumed, as the two let out a sigh of relief simultaneously. "And now the fun part" Ruby spoke up.

"And what part is that?"

"The one where we tell Yang."

Weiss shrunk a little. "Right… I don't think we'll have to." Lifting a finger, Weiss pointed out beacons blonde brawler headed right towards them, a shark like grin on her face.

"Uh oh." Within moments, the exuberant blonde was upon them.

"So that's what this whole thing was about, huh?" Yang questioned the two, focusing on Weiss.

"Um.. What whole thing?"

Yang's eyes narrowed, and the temperature rose significantly. "Don't play stupid, Schnee. Ruby seems to have forgiven you for the last few weeks, but I haven't. Hurt her, and I will end you. Now, that being said, Come here!" Yang proceeded to bear hug the two, only putting them down after Ruby complained of not being able to breathe. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of a conversation with Flint that I don't know how to handle. Come on, let's go." Ruby and Weiss were summarily pushed towards the table with the Outlander in question.

* * *

I looked up from my meal, noting that Yang had the two missing teammates with her. "So, you decided to spare her, I see." Nodding my head at the heiress. Yang just beamed.

"I can't help it if they're so adorable! Besides, hitting Weiss would just make ruby mad at me, much as I want to some days." Yang sat down and began to devour her food.

Weiss looked over. "Really, you brute? If you don't slow down you're going to choke, and where do you think that leaves Flint?" There was a distinctive 'hork' that escaped Yang as she actually inhaled some of her food. The blonde began to pound on her chest until she coughed up the offending material.

Blake sighed. "I thought I might get to actually read my book. Well, you tried Weiss." With that, she left the table. I was very confused at Weiss's comment however.

"Yeah, I'd be upset if Yang choked to death on toast, but what do you mean 'where would that leave me'?" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Well, the two of you are dating, I kind of figured you would be more than a little upset at your girlfriend dying." I had stopped listening after 'dating'.

"Wait, what?" I spoke up.

Weiss laughed at me. "We all saw what happened in that clearing, it was plain to see you couldn't get enough of each other!"

I was dumbstruck. What had I done in that clearing that would leave such an impression? "Weiss… I don't remember much of the clearing. What happened?" My tone made it pretty clear not answering was not an option.

"What, you don't remember gazing into each others eyes like two lovestruck buffoons? Wow, Yang, I figured you would have left more of an impression." The taunt, while aimed at Yang, had an adverse reaction.

Before yang had a chance to protest, I stood up, towering over the Ice Queen. "Weiss, I was given a concussion by an Ursa major. The fact of what happened, or my memory of it, is not for you to mock, and quite frankly, it disappoints me that you would stoop to such levels." I turned to Yang, who had a look of appreciation on her face until I spoke up again. "That's seriously what you were hiding from me?" Before I was able to receive my response, I glanced at the clock, seeing that I had enough time to finish my project, if I left right now. "Crap, I gotta run. See you later!" Gathering my things, I stepped out of the cafeteria and disappeared through the doors.

Sitting at the table still, Yang groaned and began banging her head against the table. Weiss looked over at the depressed blonde, obviously annoyed. "Would you quit doing that! I am trying to eat here!"

Yang's voice was muffled through her voluminous layers of hair. "You saw how well that went." With that, she resumed banging her head against the table.

Weiss looked at Ruby and gave an exasperated sigh. "She's your sister, you do something about her."

Ruby scooted out from under Weiss and sat down beside Yang, the dull thud of her ramming her cranium into the table repeating endlessly. "Yang, why not go talk to Flint? I'm sure he'll be willing to talk with you, he obviously cares for you." Yang perked up immediately at the statement.

"You really think so?"

"Positive."

"I'm gonna go find him, then."

* * *

It was only when I became conscious of a consistent ringing that I realized I had indeed found the forge. I stepped in and was assaulted by waves of rolling heat. Walking forwards despite the increasing temperature, I quickly found an apron and welding mask. Donning the safety gear, I began collecting materials as a weapon design began to formulate in my mind.

My collection of materials was disturbed by a mammoth hand clamping down on my shoulder. "And just what are you planning on building with all that?" The smith gestured to my armful of magnets, tungsten, and surprisingly dust.

"I'm going to create my weapon. Actually, since you are here, think I could pick your brain before I start?"

The smith laughed. "Why of course, my boy! That is what I'm here for, after all!"

I smiled, and began to bombard the man with several questions, all of which were answered with ease.

I wiped the sweat off my brow before I picked up the crucible containing the most important part. I grimaced as I tipped the contents into the mold that would create the body of my weapon. Satisfaction rolled through me as the mixture of metal and dust settled into the mold perfectly, beginning the tempering process.

"Well, I'd say she's finished my boy. Now all that's left is to give her a name." The smith clapped me on the back as I wielded my brand new weapon. The item in question was an axe infused with dust to enhance the channeling of my aura and covered with grooves and holes that would cause it to whistle when swung, and it would shift into a clip-fed railgun when the catch in the middle was triggered, right above the handle.

Names from my world flew through my mind,but I settled on one that stood out above all.

"Baen Sidhe will be your name, for your cry summons death." Now all that was left was to learn how to use it. I began walking back, smiling the whole way. I had succeeded in making myself a weapon, and a good one at that. Marvelling at the heft the weapon commanded, I gave her a few experimental swings, falling into a comfortable rhythm as I whirled my tool of destruction in devastating arcs. Satisfied, I began my travel to my dorm, Only to be stopped by a cannonball of blonde hair and energy.

"Hey, there you are! I've been looking for you, you disappeared after lunch and you wouldn't answer your scroll! Where were you? And what is that?" Questions and worry tumbled out of Yangs mouth faster than I could comprehend, leaving me dazed by the rapid fire queries. Taking a moment to sort everything out, I faced Yang.

"I'm sorry for disappearing, I just had to make this" Gesturing at my new weapon "And my spare block was running out. I didn't answer my scroll because I neglected to charge it, and this is Baen Sidhe, my war axe. Now what has you searching for yours truly?" I rattled off my answers as quickly as Yang had requested them, cutting through to the core of the conversation.

Yang perked up, remembering something important evidently. "Team RWBY and JNPR are doing a thing tonight, and you're invited!" The energetic blondes' voice was filled with excitement and she practically shook as she announced this 'thing' that was happening. A smirk stretched across my face at the sight. I could see where ruby got her enthusiasm from.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight then?" I asked.

"It's a date!" Yang said as she tore off, raving about plans and decorations. I just stood there, most definitely over-analyzing her parting words.

"_It's a date!" _She couldn't mean like an actual date date, right? No way that was a thing, it could never happen. But Yang's words flew around my cranium on a broken record, repeating herself again and again, leaving a goofy smile on my face.


	6. bottles

It's a date!

Yang's words ran through my head yet again as I prepared for the evening. My curiosity was piqued as to the 'thing' the teams were hosting, and I wasn't sure what to wear. Silly, right? After fretting for quite some time, I realised Yang was planning this event, and as such I should probably not be too attached to these clothes, and went with my usual get-up. A black, form fitting tee shirt went on, accompanied by slightly ripped jeans, and my hoodie completed the ensemble. I strapped my boots back on, collected some last minute things, stepped out of my room and made my way to the dorms.

Chaos reigned supreme in team RWBY's room as I made my way inside, increasing the body count of the room to nine. "Hey, hope I'm not late!" I called out to no-one in particular, observing the pandemonium taking place.

Nora and Ruby were playing speed rock-paper-scissors-chess, the rules of which I could make neither heads nor tails of. Ren sat beside the two, officiating the match. Weiss was holding a one-sided conversation with Pyrrha, who sent fleeting glances at her blonde knight, Jaune. Jaune was sitting on the edge of a bed, fingers drumming out a rhythm only he followed. Blake was, as usual, reading her Ninjas of love book, And Yang? Yang was setting up the drinks, pouring soda into red plastic cups, quickly splashing something in with each drink she poured. I narrowed my eyes as a grin spread across my face. Stealing my way through the crowd, I snuck up on the unsuspecting blonde and with one swift motion, sniped the bottle from her hands.

"My, my, Yang. Alcohol? What would Goodwitch have to say about this?" With that, I popped the top off of the bottle and poured a sizeable amount down my throat, the familiar taste of rum coating my tongue. I tossed a wink at the brawler and handed the bottle back to her. "Top mine up with a little extra, yeah?" The brawler just stared at me as I walked away.

My arrival kicked off the festivities, as Yang called out "Drinks are up!" And began handing them out to everyone. "All right, everybody in a circle!" Yang had a grin on her face as she called out seating arrangements. "All right, Ren you're on my left, Nora, you sit beside him. Ice queen, you're between Ruby and Nora. Jaune, you and Pyrrha are beside Rubes, Blake, you sit by Ruby and that puts Wonderboy" She points at me, then aims the finger down beside her "Right here." We all obliged the excited blonde, sitting where she had designated with a minimal amount of complaints. Once everyone was settled, Yang turned to me. "So, you still haven't been formally introduced to team JNPR yet, right?" I nodded my head in confirmation. "Okay, so we'll start with that. Jaune, you're the man in charge, why don't you do the honors?"

"Sure, why not?" Jaune spoke up. Raising himself to a standing point, the blonde knight gestured to himself and his teammates. "First up, we have Nora Valkyrie, always the life of the party. She wields a Warhammer that's also a grenade launcher, loves the color pink, and has a fondness for breaking legs. Next we have Lie Ren, he and Nora have been together for a long time, they are childhood friends in fact. Ren is a martial artist, with two fully automatic pistols with blades on the end. He has managed to keep up with Nora for all these years, and I'm not sure how. Then we come to Pyrrha Nikos."

Something in his voice changed when he said her name, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. His voice warbled a little, tension hiding… Warmth? Jaune's continued introductions interrupted my thought process. "Pyrrha won the Mistralian championship four times in a row before coming here to get away from the public eye. She is a phenomenal fighter, and If I can fight half as well as her by the time I graduate, my career as a hunter is set. Her weapon is fantastically designed, it's a javelin, and a sword, and a rifle. She has saved my life more than a few times, and I'm proud to call her my friend!" Jaune ended rather emphatically. Pyrrha's face was having a competition with her hair and Ruby's cloak to see which would be redder, and the Amazonian was certainly in it to win it.

"I guess that just leaves me. I'm Jaune Arc as you already know, seeing as we ran into each other on your first day here. I lead team JNPR, I have seven sisters, and I use a sword and shield to fight, not that I'm too good at it." Jaune finished, not detailing himself too much which I found confusing after his glowing praise for the rest of his team. I suppose he's humble.

Pyrrha spoke up, defending her leader from himself. "Jaune is actually quite a skilled fighter, as well as a masterful tactician. Despite his confidence issues, he has improved greatly since he arrived." Fire and passion filled her voice as she spoke up. 'Looks like someone prefers blondes' I thought to myself as I smiled.

"D'aww, Pyrrha, you're going to make me blush!" Jaune became very flustered at her sudden outburst. "Alright, your turn!" He proclaimed with a smile, returning to his seat next to the amazon.

Dutifully, I took the floor. "Hi. I'm not too terribly good at introductions, so bear with me. I go by the name Flint Ddraig, and I, uh, I'm not from here. Like, from Remnant." The girls had taken that little bombshell in stride, so I figured their friends wouldn't mind either. "I use a battle axe that shifts into a railgun, I named her Baen Sidhe. I used to work in a kitchen, and I'm in beacon so I can make a difference in this world." I paused before saying something I knew I would regret. "So, any questions?"

Nora immediately spoke up, "Are you an alien? Where's your antennae? Are you here to take over Remnant? Do you come in peace? Where is your homeworld?" the excitable Viking flew around me, poking and prodding as she fired questions at me. I shot a pleading look at Ren, silently begging him to stop her. The calmer half of the pair just sighed.

"Nora."

"Yes Ren? Oh, do you eat people?"

"Let him speak, please. And sit down"

Thank You I mouthed at the stoic boy. He nodded in appreciation. Turning to the now subdued ginger, I spoke up. "No, I am human, same as you and everyone else in the room." Did Blake's bow just twitch? "I don't have any antennae, World domination isn't high on my list of things to do, I've never tried human before, although I imagine it would taste like salted pork." I ticked the questions off my fingers, leaving one last one. "My homeworld is a planet called Earth. Anyone else have questions?"

Jaune raised his hand, and I gestured for him to speak up. "Where did you live, before you came here?"

"I was born and raised in a country known as Canada, It's usually really cold there, with snow or slush dominating the weather patterns eight months of the year, and road construction taking up the other four."

I could see Nora vibrating in her seat, so I turned and addressed her. "Yes, Nora?"

"How do you say your last name? It sounds all funny when you say it, like the I is the most important letter in it, and you do something weird at the start."

I chuckled at her statement. Welsh has been never easy for the uneducated. "You're right, Nora I do." I snagged some paper and a pen from ruby's desk. "Mind if I use these?" I asked as I held the items in question up.

"Sure."

I wrote down my name twice, breaking one up into its phonetics. The paper read as such;

Ddraig ~~~ Drr/ Eye/ Guh

"So, this is how you say my last name. You roll the D into the R, and it makes a noise like a card in a bike spoke, you know how that sounds right? That's the hardest part, the rest of it is exactly how it looks." After a few tries with rolling her R's, Nora was flawlessly pronouncing my name. "Nice! High five." I held my hand up for the celebratory gesture, which was reciprocated with enthusiasm.

Nora paused for a moment. "What's your name mean?"

"Well, flint is a light gray rock, nothing extraordinary looking about it, but if you hit it right, you get sparks. Ddraig is from my ancestral language, and it means dragon. There were two dragons in my ancestors' history, and they shaped the fate of their country. I'm hoping to do the same. Alright, now that the Meet and Greet is done, what did you have planned Yang?"

The Brawler immediately piped up. "Never have I ever! I'll start." Ruby looks decidedly uncomfortable with the look Yang is giving her. "Never have I ever gotten my weapon stuck in a doorframe."

Ruby's face turned red, and she put on the most adorable pout I have ever seen.

"Yaaang! You said you wouldn't bring that up!" With a huff, she took a sip of her drink. Jaune drank up as well, recalling an incident involving his shield and a certain Winchester. "Alright, Ren, your turn!" The martial artist furrowed his brow in thought, finally making his proclamation. "Never have I ever blackmailed someone" Both Blake and Yang drank to that one, the darker of the two drawing attention with that revelation.

Blake lowered her cup to several eyes staring at her. "What? At least I don't enjoy it, unlike someone in the room."

It was Nora's turn, and the always energetic woman seemed a bit reserved. "Never have I ever…" That last part of her sentence trailed off into indecipherable mumbling.

"Sorry, Nora, could you repeat that last part?" Jaune spoke up, prompting the suddenly shy girl.

"NeverhaveIeverKissedaboy!" she blurted out. Of course she would ask that. I raised my cup, pointedly staring into the corner of the room. How long has that spiderweb been there? Lowering my drink, I noted that I was the only one in the room to have failed this particular round. The silence in the room was deafening, and I had more than a few mixed looks pointed at me.

Yang broke the silence. "So… You kissed another boy?"

I sighed, and cupped my head in a hand. "Yes, Yang, yes I have."

She pressed the issue further. "So… you're gay then?"

"No Yang, I'm not gay. Spin the bottle bites you in the ass sometimes. Besides, the girls got a kick out of it." I paused for a moment, mulling over a thought. "Hey, Yang. You've never kissed a boy before?"

Yang stopped, cocking her head at me. "No, I never had time, what with making sure rubes here" jerking her thumb at her sibling "Didn't accidentally burn the house down-"

"HEY! That was ONE TIME!"

"-Or go into a sugar coma, I had my hands too full for romance. Besides, Rubes here always comes first to me. Speaking of which, it's your turn sis!"

Without breaking eye contact with her sister, Ruby spoke in a deliberate tone. "Never have I ever observed single awareness day." The brawler grumbled to herself as she raised her glass, mirroring my actions as I gave the tiny girl the evil eye. "Flint, you don't celebrate valentines day?" Ruby asked.

"Been alone every year for the last three, but thanks for bringing it up."

Ruby seemed a bit abashed by my statement, uttering a tiny 'oh'. Yang was giving me a funny look this whole time, when she thought I wasn't paying attention that is. I'm more observant than people think, I'll have you know.

Never have I ever continued with many embarrassing and hilarious revelations until everyones cups were empty, at which point Yang poured everyone a refill. Everyone was feeling the effects of the alcohol, as laughter and curses flew freely with each statement. "Alright, alright, HEY!" Yang bellowed, ripping everyone's eyes towards the blonde. "Time for the next game" she leered at her rapt audience. With a slow, deliberate motion, the blonde set a bottle in the middle of the circle, capsized on its side. "Now, who's ready for truth or dare?" Her predatory grin made it clear that 'no' was not an answer. "Now, house rules?"

"Nothing that could get us expelled" Weiss immediately piped up.

"Under no circumstance is anyone to accept a dare from Nora." Ren seemed to shake a little as he spoke.

"What happens in the room, stays in the room" Blake stated with an air of finality.

"I'd say that covers everything, now let's get started!" Yang cried out, giving the bottle a mighty whirl. Around and around, the bottle spun, countless revolutions made in front of our tipsy eyes. The bottle spun to a standstill, firmly pointed at the only other blonde in the room. "Jaune, truth or dare?" Yang asked, voice filled with layers of intent.

The leader of team JNPR paused for a moment."Uhh… Dare."

Yang smiled. "I want you to pick out the prettiest girl in the room, and lay one on her." She flashed him a megawatt smile as she said this, stunning Jaune for a moment before he collected himself.

"L-lay one on her? L-like kiss her?" Yang just nodded and smiled more. "O~kay then… Um… Pyrrha?"

The Amazonian turned towards her leader. "Yes Jaune?" Her eyes widen in surprise as he cups her chin and brings her lips to meet his. Seconds passed, filled with silence. When the blonde warrior pulled away, the room was treated to the sight of a very stunned Champion.

"Pyrrha? Py~rrha…" Nora passed her hand in front of her speechless teammate. "Ren, Jaune broke her! Oh, I know! We have to turn her off and back on, right? Well, the off part is already done, so I guess we just need to turn her back on!"

Yang giggled and pointed at Jaune "I think that's exactly the problem, Nora." Jaune looked confused for a moment, before blushing profusely and stammering.

"No, no, th-that's not it at all!" Team JNPR's fearless leader began defending himself profusely. Ren wordlessly handed a roll of lien to a certain hammer wielder.

Jaune stretched his arm into the circle and gave the bottle a mighty spin. Rotations came and went, and the bottle pointed towards his stoic teammate. "So, Ren. Truth or dare?" The blonde sat cross legged, arms propped on his knees.

The magenta eyed boy sat silent for some time, weighing his options. After a small wait, Ren spoke up. "I choose Truth" he quietly stated.

It was Jaune's turn to consider his options now. After much humming and hawing, he proclaimed "I've got it!" Pointing a finger at Ren, he began his personal inquisition. "I have one, and only one question for you. Are you, or are you not 'together-together' with Nora?"

The duo in question exchanged looks, turned to Jaune, and exchanged another look. Ren rested his hand on a knee, palm up, and looked at his partner. Nora reached over and claimed his hand, lacing their fingers together and nodded at the quiet boy. Turning his head to the hapless blonde, he uttered a single sentence.

"Does it really need to be said?"

The lotus warrior took his turn, the bottle spiraling to point at the other ninja in the group. "Blake, you know how this goes. What is your choice?"

Blake answered quietly and decisively. "I feel comfortable with your decisions, Ren. I choose dare." A dangerous grin spread over the stoic boy's face, made all the more unnerving by his silence. Wordlessly, he strode towards the bunk beds, reached a hand under Blakes pillow, and withdrew a small black book. "Wait… No! No!" Blake flushed, tucking her head into her knees as she curled into a ball. "What do you think you're doing with that?!" She hissed out, refusing to look at Ren or what he was holding.

The warrior thrust the book at its owner. "Open it to a random spot, and read the whole page."

Blakes face refused to return to its' original colour, as she opened her copy of 'Ninjas of Love' and began reading.

"Again and again, they clashed. Silk met steel, calloused hands roamed over smooth surfaces. Running his hands through her hair, her savior placed his lips on her neck and claimed her, pulling away to reveal a small mark. A small sigh escaped her lips as the contact ceased, replaced by stuttering gasps as he traced his way down to her most sensit-" Yang charged across the circle and dropped her hands over her sister's ears.

"A~nd that's enough of that, I'd say! No need to continue this discussion while young ears are present!" Yang's voice held a falsely chipper tone as she returned to her seat. "But seriously though, I'm borrowing that later." I turned my head to make eye contact with the brawler, raising a single eyebrow. "What? A girl's got needs, you know." She said in a teasing tone. Blake took her opportunity to spin the bottle, landing on none other than myself.

"Alright Flint, your turn in the hot seat. Truth or dare?"

Oh boy. "Umm… the last two dares involved swapping saliva, and reading porn. I don't mind, but lets switch it up. I choose truth."

The ninja paused for a moment, tilting her head in thought before turning to me. "I've noticed you sneaking glances at my partner when she wasn't paying attention. What do you think of Yang?"

Crap. "I choose dare." All aboard the nope train, I'll be collecting your tickets shortly.

Blake grinned. "Alright, I dare you to pull a single strand of hair from Yang's head." Turning to face the Blonde in question, I began reaching my hand out towards her mane, only for my eye to be caught by frantic movement to the side. Turning my head, I saw Ruby frantically shaking her head, slicing at her throat with her hand. To her side, I saw Nora nodding her head with equal fervor, contradicting Ruby's actions. Facing the brawler again, I began to seriously reconsider my present course of action, and all the ones that had led up to it. Lowering my hand back to my side, I steeled myself for what I was about to do.

"Well, the first time I met Yang, she saved my life. Then I woke up to find her asleep in my ward from when I was hospitalised the first time. I got to return the favor on the mission, where I discovered my semblance. And finding you in my room when I just woke up, well that was definitely unexpected. I've only been here for a short time, but Yang has been a very important part of my life here. I feel like my life would be the lesser for having never met her, and" I turn to face the subject of my monologue "I'm not sure, but I think I'm starting to fall for her." Silence filled the room, while Yang and I simply stared at each other.

Awkwardness permeated the room, until Nora shouted out "Hurry up and kiss her, dammit!"

Tentatively, our faces approached each other. I closed my eyes as I tilted my head, granting better access to the woman I had just confessed to. I felt something soft brush across my lips, and- Oh jeez, that's her tongue. I opened up and let her in, and for a short eternity, there was nothing but us. My lungs were crying out for oxygen, but I ignored them in exchange for this moment to continue. Eventually, however, one of us had to give. Pulling away for air, I looked into her eyes. Opening our mouths, we spoke in unison.

"Well, that was a thing."

* * *

Hey all. Its been a whopping 80 days since I last uploaded, and I'm here to tell you why. The long and short of it is, Life drop kicked me in the balls, and it took a long time to get back up. I crashed my car, irreparably damaging it. I began slaving away to replace it, eating at what few hours I had to write. I cam home emotionally and physically drained. Once I replaced my car, My employer cut my hours to a fraction of what they originally were, well below what I needed for my living expenses. I continued working while trying to find a new job, walking all day and working well into the early hours of the morning. I had a job lined up, so I walked out of my old workplace without a look back. As it turned out, the job I had lined up wasn't nearly as secure as I thought and I wound up unemployed for quite some time. it was during this time that I was evicted from my previous residence, and was taken in by a friends family, where I currently reside. During all of this, I fell into a deep depression, manifesting itself as apathy and self deprecation. I was barely able to write more than a paragraph before losing interest or the will to continue. It took a (quite literal) kick in the ass from my best friend to get me out of the circle of self hatred I had fallen in, and now I have a job, my own bed, and a car. I have received immense support from my circle of friends and family and I am extremely grateful for all of them. the problem is, somewhere along the line all my inspiration for writing this story died. I can't mark the exact time it happened, but I haven't managed to rekindle that original spark from when I first started this tale. There are so many things that I was going to do with this story, but ultimately this was an exerciser for my writing skills which were extremely rusty. I will be writing a new story sometime soon, with everyones favorite bumbling blond as the main character. I will see all you lovely folk the next time around with my very own Troubles of the Heart.

until then.


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